St. Louis ? Forced to choose between having closer Robb Nen face Albert Pujols or Tino Martinez, San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker chose Martinez.

Baker made the right choice.

San Francisco catcher Benito Santiago rounds the bases after hitting a game-winning home run in the top of the ninth inning. The Giants won, 5-4, Wednesday in St. Louis.

Nen got Martinez to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded, completing the Giants’ 5-4 come-from-behind victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

“You’re caught between a rock and a hard spot,” Baker said. “You don’t really want to face Albert.”

Jeff Kent hit a tying home run in the eighth inning and Benito Santiago connected for a go-ahead homer in the ninth as the Giants rallied from three runs down for the victory.

In the ninth, Fernando Vina led off with a single. Placido Polanco bunted but Kent dropped Nen’s throw at first base. Nen got Jim Edmonds to fly out to center but both runners advanced when center fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo threw to third.

“We made two big mistakes there,” Baker said.

Baker elected to walk Pujols, who went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, to load the bases and have Nen face Martinez.

The move worked and Nen earned his 25th save. Martinez has now gone nine games (29 at-bats) without an RBI.

Santiago hit a 3-0 pitch from reliever Dave Veres (3-5) into the left-field seats.

Braves 10, Marlins 0

Atlanta Greg Maddux pitched seven shutout innings and Gary Sheffield had three hits, as Atlanta, won its second straight after a three-game losing streak its first since mid-May. The Marlins have lost a season-high seven straight.

Maddux (9-2), who hasn’t lost in his past 15 starts, gave up six singles and threw just 85 pitches, but left in favor of Kevin Gryboski to start the eighth.

Mets 9, Expos 6

Montreal Mo Vaughn had an RBI single and Edgardo Alfonzo hit a two-run double to spark a five-run eighth inning as New York won its fourth straight. Vladimir Guerrero went 4-for-5, homering in his first two at-bats.

Vaughn hit his third straight single with one out in the eighth for a 5-4 lead and Alfonzo followed with a two-run double.

Pirates 6, Reds 3

Pittsburgh Pokey Reese drove in four runs with a two-run homer and a single, and Jimmy Anderson pitched Pittsburgh past Cincinnati.

Reese put the Pirates ahead 2-1 in the second with a single that followed Kevin Young’s leadoff single and Chad Hermansen’s double.

Astros 7, Brewers 3

Milwaukee Wade Miller pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and ignited two rallies with leadoff singles as Houston beat Milwaukee. Miller (6-3) improved to 9-1 with a 2.76 ERA in his career against the Brewers and is 7-1 in 10 starts since returning from the disabled list after missing eight outings with a pinched nerve in his neck.

Phillies 4, Cubs 3,

10 innings

Philadelphia Pat Burrell went 3-for-4 with a home run and helped Philadelphia score the winning run in the 10th inning with heads-up baserunning. With runners on first and third and one out in the 10th, Burrell was intentionally walked by Jeff Fassero (3-6). Travis Lee then hit a grounder to second baseman Mark Bellhorn. Burrell stopped and Bellhorn chased him back toward first.

While Bellhorn was chasing Burrell, Lee reached safely and Jason Michaels scored the winning run for the Phillies.

Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 3

Denver Curt Schilling became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 16 wins, and Luis Gonzalez drove in five runs as Arizona beat Colorado.

Schilling (16-3) allowed three runs on 10 hits in seven innings to win his 10th straight on the road. He struck out six and has 197 on the season, most in the majors.

Padres 7, Dodgers 0

Los Angeles Brian Lawrence pitched a four-hitter for his second career shutout and Phil Nevin hit a three-run homer as San Diego beat Los Angeles. Lawrence (8-5) struck out seven and walked one to win for the first time in six starts since June 12. It was his third complete game in 35 career starts.